We made it to Yap, but . . .
THE BEST LAID PLANS- STUCK FOR 4 DAYS IN GUAM - It was all coming together so nicely. We were on our way to Yap. Three people coming in through Denver and Honolulu. Four of coming in through Tokyo. All converging in Guam for the last leg of the trip, a 90-minute flight GUM-YAP. We were all on the plane. In our seats. Laughing and smiling even though we were dead-tired from the travel. Ready to go even in the rain. Then we heard the announcement: "Please gather all of your belongings and get off the plane. This flight has been canceled due to weather conditions." Uh-oh.
Clear Immigration to be officially let into Guam. Get bags and clear Customs. Go the United service desk. Fortunately, four of us flew Business which meant United gave us four 2-night vouchers for hotel rooms and we were able to make that work for all seven of us. But the next flight to Yap - again, weather permitting (thanks a lot Tropical Storm Bebinca) - wasn't until Saturday night. So we had to go back out to the airport. Stand in the United line again, and ask then to extend our hotel vouchers (which they did) through Saturday evening.
We liked the hotel we holed up in (Rihga Royal Laguna Beach) but there was NOTHING to do as the occasional downpour had us pretty much stuck inside. But we had Internet, a deck of cards, and for some unknown reason but I'm not complaining about, my room card was keyed so that we had access to their private room/club on the 10th floor (which was always empty).
Fortunately, we got out Saturday night. 6 of our 7 people can extend the stay in Yap so we'll add on to the end the days we were lost at the beginning. And United was pretty good with the vouchers - they included meal vouchers and taxi vouchers too - and the group's good at rolling with the flow.
AN EARTHQUAKE TO BOOT - While we were sitting at the airport Saturday night waiting to board the plane, Guam was hit with a 5.3 earthquake. (Can the tsunami be far behind???) Three of our people immediately said, "Was that an earthquake?" I've got to admit - and I was sitting with them - I didn't feel a thing.
CURRENT CONDITIONS IN YAP - Not the greatest. Tropical Storm Bebinca, which is what stranded us in Guam, has what the U.S. Weather Service calls, "An impressive monsoon tail." In other words, even though it's moving on, it's still creating havoc literally in its wake. For Yap, that means strong winds out of the southwest, which means it runs own both sides of the island, making it hard to find diveable spots. On top of that, it's raining off and on, occasionally pouring. But we're here and we'll make the best of it. |
